Could you, off the top of your head, guess the population of Killarney? While plenty of politicians probably wouldn’t have such specific Kerry trivia to hand, there was a confident sense in Leinster House on Tuesday that it is definitely less than 20,000.
In the grey drizzle of Merrion Street early on Tuesday morning, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke revealed to journalists standing outside Government Buildings that he had U-turned on a significant policy decision that would have seen a crackdown on Airbnb-style short-term lets in small Irish towns.
The Government had previously planned to restrict such holiday lets in towns with populations of more than 10,000 – a measure that is largely motivated by an anxiety to increase desperately needed private rental accommodation in Irish towns.
Now, Burke said, the re
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.